Prostatic cancer, coital rates, vasectomy and testosterone

Abstract

SummaryIt is usually supposed that androgens play a major role in the aetiology of prostatic cancer. This note suggests that the association of the disease with low (as well as high) coital rates and its apparent association with vasectomy can both be reconciled with the hypothesised androgenic involvement.

Hypothesis: Gonadal Hormones Act as Confounders in Epidemiological Studies of the Associations between Some Behavioural Risk Factors and Some Pathological Conditions

“…These e!ects appear to be independent of age and marital status''. The same sort of argument has been used to propose that vasectomy (James, 1994) and oral contraceptive use (James, 1993) also act initially as markers for high steroid hormone levels in men and women, respectively. And*again acknowledging the absence of direct hormonal data*a similar argument could be deployed with regard to women who undergo induced abortion.…”